On the grapevine

Toast of Ukraine: With rather unfortunate timing, an association of Ukrainian winemakers, Wines of Ukraine, was formed recently. They have had to redevelop their wine regions because when Russia seized Crimea in 2014, Ukraine lost more than half of its vineyards. Now it has over 40,000 hectares of vineyards, around the same as New Zealand, and later this year the association had planned to promote its wines for the first time at a major wine fair in Germany. Whether the winemakers will turn up is anyone’s guess, but we all wish them well.

Sparkling sales: It seems as if we are all starting to like drinking English sparkling wine. Despite considerable new vineyard plantings, with even French producers joining in, there is the possibility that we could have a shortage of English fizz this year. Sales of some major brands grew by 55 per cent in 2021 and with visitor numbers up, sales direct to consumers from the vineyards is now a sizeable part of each vineyard’s market. Exports of English sparkling wine are also growing.

Restaurant wine lists: I have just finished judging the Oliver Awards for Restaurants, organised by the Yorkshire Evening Post. It was fascinating to compare the menus, quality and food skills of all the fabulous restaurants in the Leeds area. What struck me was that so very few bother to put their wine list online. While they are very keen to sell you wine with your dinner, and make a considerable mark-up, usually 300 per cent on the price they have paid, they are unwilling to tell you in advance what they list. This is a shame since wine makes up a chunk of every restaurant’s profit and a list online alongside the menu will help attract more diners. The results of the Oliver Awards will be announced on March 28.